


Turtles and Laughter

by EverettVargas (EverettV)



Series: Spamano Week 2016 [3]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff, M/M, Romano's Filthy Vocabulary, Spamano Week 2016, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-10 17:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8925343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverettV/pseuds/EverettVargas
Summary: Lovino is homeless and has to take care of his little brother, Feliciano, while paying his grandfather's hospital bills. One night, after stealing some bread, he gets invited in by a stranger. Lovino doesn't trust him, but he doesn't feel like he has much of a choice. He can give Feliciano a warm home again, even if just for a night, so he agrees.





	

Lovino dashes faster, legs going as fast as they possibly can. He sucks in a breath of the cold winter air as he hears the sirens nearby. Lovino’s chest aches from lack of breath as he squeezes the bread to his chest. He slips in the mushy snow, pushing himself back up as quickly as he can, breath billowing out in front of him. 

“In here! Come on, quick!” Lovino doesn’t double guess it, just rushes into the offered house. He slams the door shut behind him and slides down, shivering violently, even in the warm house. He looks up at the person who let him in, who is now peeking outside the window to watch for the police. “Why are they after you?” He asks gently, looking down at Lovino. When the Italian seems to shrink in on himself he kneels in front of him. 

“Hey… It’s okay. I’m not going to turn you in. How old are you? What happened?” He says gently. Lovino looks up at him again, meeting his eyes. He is shocked to see how much worry is showing. 

“I’m 18. I… I stole some food from the supermarket.” Lovino backs up against the door. “Thank you, but I have to go.” He stands up shakily, checking outside before going to open the door. Antonio stands up quickly, pushing the door shut again. He steps back quickly, when Lovino tries to elbow him. 

“I can’t let you leave. It’s freezing and the cops will still be looking for you, please, just stay here tonight.” Antonio says softly. “My name is Antonio. I don’t want you to go to jail. Why did you have to steal that stuff from the supermarket?” He asks gently. He’s not worried about Lovino taking anything from his house. 

“I… I have to go to my brother. He’s just a kid, he’s not going to know why I’m not coming back.” Lovino whips around. “My parents fucking died when I was 16. We lost our house when nonno got sick and I couldn’t afford to keep him and the house. I don’t have any money, all of it’s going into keeping my grandfather alive and clothes on my brother’s body so he won’t die from freezing. Let me go, I have to go to him.” He snaps, going to open the door again. Antonio sets his hand on Lovino’s shoulder. 

“I know you don’t know me, but let’s go get your brother in my car and the two of you can stay here for tonight. I don’t want you out there. It’s freezing.” Antonio watches Lovino worriedly, almost like he’s going to dart away with no warning. Lovino pauses, setting the bread down on the floor. It’s really all he managed to get. Bread to go with the peanut butter he got last time. He looks stressed out, but he still nods a bit. 

“Fine. But only tonight. Because I want him to have somewhere warm to sleep.” He whispers. Antonio’s face breaks out in a smile and nods, leading Lovino out to the garage. Lovino follows him, shaking from cold as soon as they step out of the warmth from the house and into garage. His teeth chatter badly as he opens the door to the car and climbs inside. 

Antonio watches him, getting in the other side. He’s worried, though he doesn't know this person. Gilbert and Francis always did say his heart went out to easily. “I know you’re scared, but I need you to tell me how to get to him.” He says gently. Lovino looks over at him then down at his lap before nodding softly. He frowns, buckling himself in and rubbing his hands together weakly. 

“Okay... “ He looks at Antonio, hazel eyes nervously meeting green for a moment before flicking back down to his lap. Mistrust shows in all of his features, though he still nods again. “I’ll give you directions when you get on the road.” He whispers. “You’re going to want to… Um... “ He stares at his hands for a moment then looks at Antonio. “Go left down the road.” 

Antonio nods and smiles, pulling out of the driveway and going the direction Lovino told him to. Lovino constantly checks the mirrors for officers, terrified to be caught. Antonio glances at him, following his directions when he’s given them. He turns on the heat in the car when it’s ready, getting a bit worried when they start to leave town. He glances over at Lovino then back to the road, turning down a dirt and gravel road when instructed. They pull up to a broken down shed and Lovino gets out. 

“Feli! Feli it’s me, come out! It’s okay!” He calls out. A small child barrels out and slams into Lovino. Antonio gets out of the car to check on them, eyes going wide when he sees the agitated teen from before laughing softly as he holds his brother close. He sits up, now covered in slush and mud, and hugs Feliciano close, listening to him rambling about his day. 

Antonio smiles softly. He comes over and helps Lovino up, smiling down at Feliciano. “Hola! My name is Antonio.” He crouches down beside Feliciano. “Your brother is a very brave man, and I offered to let you to stay at my house tonight, because it’s way too cold.” He says gently. Feliciano smiles brightly and hugs him. 

“Grazie! Grazie! My fratello is the best. He takes care of me and nonno.” He holds his jacket around his shoulders tightly. “Can we do laundry? Should I grab my stuff?” He asks, looking up at Lovino. Lovino ruffles his hair softly and looks at Antonio, blushing darkly and looking away. 

“If it’s okay with Antonio we can do some laundry.” He says softly. Antonio nods when the golden eyes are turned to him. He chuckles when Feliciano’s face lights up again and rushes off to their shed to pack up their stuff. Lovino looks at the ground, putting his arms around himself and walking away to grab his clothes as well. 

Feliciano makes sure he grabs his homework and puts it in his backpack. “Grab your blanket, Feli, we need to wash our blankets as well.” He says softly, grabbing his own blanket and pillow and shoving them into his basket. He puts as much into the basket as he can then packs their food into his backpack and slings it over his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go. Antonio is being nice to us, we can’t make him wait.” He whispers. Feliciano nods and rushes back out to the car. He slides into the backseat, making room for the basket, and hums happily. Lovino sits in the front again. 

“My name’s Lovino. That’s Feliciano. He’s only 8.” He whispers. Antonio nods and glances in the rearview mirror at Feliciano. 

“Hey Feli? Do you go to school? Do you like it? Did you learn anything new today?” He asks gently. Feliciano smiles brightly at him and tells him all about his school, what he likes, what he doesn’t while Lovino watches Antonio. Antonio parks in his garage and gets out, grabbing their laundry basket and heading inside. Lovino scoops Feliciano out and carries him inside, grabbing the bread from beside the door. He makes Feliciano a sandwich and tells him to work on his homework. 

Lovino finds Antonio and blushes darkly before looking down. “Hey… Um… Would you mind if we also took showers? We haven’t in awhile.” He grips the hem of his jacket tightly. Antonio looks up at him then smiles, nodding. 

“Of course. Here, let’s get you in the shower now so I can wash the clothes you’re wearing. They’re filthy.” Antonio grabs a clean towel and leads him upstairs, setting it on the sink. “When you’re done undressing, just toss your clothes into the hallway. I’ll give you a set of mine to wear.” He gets a pair of pajama pants, boxers, and a shirt for Lovino and sets them on the sink with the towel. 

Lovino nods, closing the door behind him. He undresses and tosses the clothes into the hallway then showers quickly, scrubbing the grime off of his skin. He dries himself and gets dressed in the clothes offered to him. He steps out and goes downstairs, eyes widening when he sees Feliciano eating a piece of cake. Antonio smiles at Lovino. 

“I’m going to make you guys a real dinner, but I figured I could give him something to tide him over. Sorry.” Antonio smiles at Lovino and pulls out ingredients to make them a rather large meal. Lovino stands there, stunned for a moment before he suddenly starts to shake. Antonio pauses, staring at the older Italian as he collapses in sobs and laughs. Antonio sets down what he has in his hands. “What’s going on?” He asks. 

Lovino buries his face in his hands. “You’re doing all this for us… And you apologize about giving him cake?” He asks, another laugh colouring his words. “I just… You’re so fucking nice. I can’t do anything to repay you.” He whispers, looking at his hands. Antonio shrugs. 

“I don’t expect anything from you. Actually, I was going to offer for you to stay here until you get back on your feet. Pitch in when you can, but otherwise, I can afford to support you, so don’t worry about it. I’ve actually got a very good job. I have a guest bedroom you two can share. You have to promise not to steal food anymore, because I don’t want to see you go to jail.” Antonio smiles at him. Lovino stares at him, not really able to say anything right away. He looks down, nodding quickly. 

“Please.” He says softly. “Thank you so much. I don’t… Fuck… This is a lot to ask for, I wish I could do something in return.” Lovino continues to cry. Feliciano stands up, looking up at Antonio then at his brother. He hugs him tightly, smiling happily. He wipes away his tears and looks up at his brother with bright eyes. 

“Antonio is a nice guy. He doesn’t want anything for it.” He says gently and stands up. Feliciano goes back to eat his cake while Lovino looks at Antonio again. He throws his arms around him tightly and closes his eyes. He still doesn’t really trust Antonio, but he sees no reason that Antonio would hurt them. 

“Thank you…” Lovino whispers softly. Antonio shakes his head and continues to cook, not minding Lovino holding onto him. Lovino lets go and sits at the table, watching Feliciano work on his homework. He helps when he can, and asks Antonio when he can’t. Before Feliciano goes to bed he grabs onto Antonio’s hand. 

“Thank you for taking care of us. You’re like my big brother.” He smiles at Lovino. “You’re so nice. Lovino is a good guy.” He says happily. “He dropped out of school to take care of Nonno and me. You have to keep being nice to him. He’ll soften up after a while.” 

Antonio glances at Lovino then nods. He smiles a bit. “Thank you, Feli. Go up to bed, okay? Your brother will be up a little later. He’s gonna help me with the dishes.” Feliciano nods and goes up to the room. He climbs into bed and falls to sleep quickly. Lovino looks up at Antonio, and the Spaniard’s breath catches. 

“You’re eyes are much more beautiful when you’re not panicking.” He compliments, a big smile on his lips. Lovino’s eyes go wide and he blushes darkly. 

“Shut up, asshole.” He mumbles and gets to his feet, helping him clean the dishes. Antonio shrugs slightly. 

“I’m sorry. Gil says I can’t read the atmosphere. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, but I think you’re beautiful. And the scared look on your face isn’t right. I don’t like it. I don’t know why, but I wanted to protect you. That’s why I called you inside even though I knew it was you the police were after. I really like that you sacrifice so much for your brother so much, it’s admirable.” Antonio hums softly. “And that’s why I’m doing this for you. I don’t want to have to see you look scared anymore.” He says gently. “I won’t keep calling you beautiful or whatever, if it bothers you, okay?” 

Lovino blushes darkly and looks over at Antonio. “I don’t fucking… I’m just not used to it, and I don’t know you, so yeah, it makes me a little uncomfortable.” He mumbles. Antonio shrugs slightly. 

“Then I won’t do it anymore.” Antonio responds. Lovino nods. Over the next several months, Lovino gets to know Antonio well, and after a while, fell in love with bubbly man. He doesn’t know what to do about it, to Antonio, he’s just a ratty street brat, somebody who he has to clean up after. One evening, in the winter again, he approaches Antonio. 

“Hey, asshole.” He says softly. Antonio turns to him and tilts his head. 

“Yeah, Lovi?” Antonio smiles brightly and looks up at him. Lovino sits down across from him and watches him tune his guitar. Lovino sets a little box on the table and pushes it close to Antonio. 

“Christmas is coming up, so I wanted to get you something. You should… You should open it early, okay?” Lovino blushes. Antonio sets aside his guitar and nods, picking up the box. He opens it and smiles brightly, then looks a bit distressed. 

“Lovi… This must have cost a fortune. It’s beautiful, but I don’t want to rob you of all your money…” He whispers. “Y-you have to take it back.” Antonio tries to hand it back to him. Lovino takes it and pulls the necklace out gently. A little emerald turtle dangles from a silver chain. Lovino leans close and clasps it around his neck. 

“No, of course I won’t take it back. Thank you so much for helping us out. I just saved up some cash until I could get it.” Lovino sits beside him. “Because I really fucking like you, and I wanted to get something I knew you would like. Please just accept it.” He whispers. Antonio tosses his arms around Lovino and nods, nuzzling against his cheek. 

“I love it. Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Day 3: Unexpected Laughter/Gifts


End file.
